my front, I saw, for the first time, that some of the fringe of his hunting-shirt had been cut away in the fight, and that a musket-ball had passed directly through his cap. I afterwards ascertained that Guert was aware of these escapes, but his nature was so manly he did not think of mentioning them.
We made a single halt, as before, to dine; but little was said, at this meal, and no change in our plan was proposed. This was the point where we ought to have diverged from the former course, did we intend to proceed first to Ravensnest; but, though all knew it, nothing was said on the subject.
“We shall carry unwelcome tidings to Mr. Traverse, and his men,” Guert observed, a minute or two before our halt was up; “for, I take it for granted, the news cannot have gone ahead of us.”
“We first,” answered the Onondago. “Too soon for Huron, yet. T’ink so—nobody know.”
“I wish, Corny,” pursued the Albanian, “we had thought of saying a word to Doortje about this accursed expedition. There is no use in a man’s being above his business; and he who puts himself in the way of fortune, might profit by now and then consulting a fortune-teller.”
“Had we done so, and had all that has happened been foretold, do you suppose it would have made any change in the result?”
“Perhaps not, since we should have been the persons to relate what we had heard. But, Abercrombie, himself, need have had no scruples about visiting that remarkable old woman. She’s a wonderful creature, Corny, as we must allow, and a prudent general would not fail to respect what she told him. It is a thousand pities that either the Commander-In-Chief, or the Adjutant-General, had not paid Doortje a visit before they left Albany. My Lord Howe’s valuable life might then have been saved.”
“In what way. Guert? I am at a loss to see in what manner any good could come of it.”
“In what manner?—Why, in the plainest possible. Now, suppose Doortje had foretold this defeat; it is clear, Abercrombie, if he put any faith in the old woman, would not have made the attack.”
“And thus defeat the defeat. Do you not see, Guert, that the soothsayer can, at the best, but foretell what is to happen, and that which must come will. It would be an easy matter for any of us to get great reputations for fortune-telling, if all we had to do was to predict misfortunes, in order that our friends might avoid them. As nothing would ever happen, in consequence of the precautions taken to avert the evils, a name would be easily and cheaply maintained.”
“By St. Nicholas! Corny, I never thought of that! But, you have been college-taught; and a thousand things are picked up at colleges, that one never dreams of at an academy. I see reason, every day, to lament my idleness when a boy; and fortunate shall I be, if I do not lament it all my life.”
Poor Guert! He was always so humble, when the subject of education arose, however accidentally or unintentionally on my part, that it was never commented on, that it did not give me pain, exciting a wish to avoid it. As the time for the halt was now up, it was easy to terminate the present discussion, by declaring as much, and proceeding on our way.
We had a hard afternoon’s walk of it, though neither of the five manifested the least disposition to give in. As for Susquesus, to me, he never seemed to know either fatigue or hunger. He was doubtless acquainted with both; but his habits of self-command were so severe, as to enable him completely to conceal his sufferings in this, as well as in most other respects.
The sun was near setting when we entered within the limits of the Mooseridge estate. We ascertained this fact by passing the line-trees, some of which had figures cut into their barks, to denote the numbers of the great subdivisions of the property. Guert pointed out these marks; being far more accustomed to the woods than either Dirck or myself. Aided by such guides, we had no difficulty in making a sufficiently straight course to the hut.
Susquesus thought a little caution necessary, as we drew near to the end of our journey. Causing us to remain behind, he advanced in front, himself, to reconnoitre. A signal, however, soon took us to the place where he stood, when we discovered the hut just as we had left it, but no one near it. This might be the result of mere accident, the surveying party frequently ‘camping out,’ in preference to making a long march after a fatiguing day’s work; and Pete would be very likely to prefer going to join these men, to remaining alone in the hut. We advanced to the building, therefore, with confidence. On reaching it, we found the place empty, as had been anticipated, though with every sign about it of its tenants having left it but a short time previously; that morning, at the furthest.
Jaap set about preparing a supper out of the regular supplies of the party; all of which were found in their places, and in abundance. On inquiry of the fellow, I ascertained it was his opinion Mr. Traverse had gone off that very day, most probably to some distant portion of the Patent, taking Pete with him, as everything was covered up and put away with that sort of care that denotes an absence of some little time. The Indian heard the negro’s remark, to this effect, and, tossing his head significantly, he said—
“No need guess—-go see—light enough—plenty time. Injin soon tell.”
He quitted the hut, on the spot, and immediately set about this self-assigned duty.
Chapter XXV
“Thou tremblest; and the whiteness in thy cheek
Is apter than thy tongue to tell thy errand.”
—Shakspeare
Curiosity induced me to follow the Indian, in order to watch his movements. Susquesus proceeded a short distance from the hut, quitting the knoll entirely, until he reached lower land, where a foot-print would be most likely to be visible, when he commenced a slow circuit of the place, with eyes fastened on the earth, as the nose of the hound follows the scent. I was so much interested in the Onondago’s manner, as to join him, falling-in in his rear, in order not to interfere with his object.
Of foot-marks there were plenty, more particularly on the low, moist ground, where we were; but they all appeared, to me, to have no interest with the Indian. Most of our party wore moccasins; and it was not easy to see how, under such circumstances, and amid such a maze of impressions, it could be possible for any one to distinguish a hostile from a friendly trail. That Susquesus thought the thing might be done, however, was very evident by his perseverance, and his earnestness.
At first, my companion met with no success, or with nothing that he fancied success; but, after making half the circuit of the hut, keeping always a hundred yards distant from it, he suddenly stopped; stooped quite to the earth; then arose, and, sticking a broken knot into the ground, as a mark, he signed to me to keep a little on one side, while he turned at right angles to his former course, and moved inwards towards our dwelling. I followed slowly, watching his movements, step by step.
In this manner we reached the hut, deviating from a direct line, in order to do so. At the hut, itself, Susquesus made a long and minute examination; but even I could see, that the marks here were so numerous, as to baffle even him. After finishing his search at this point, the Indian turned, and went back to the place where he had stuck the knot in the ground. In doing this, however, he followed his own trail, returning by precisely the same deviating course as that by which he had come. This, alone, would have satisfied me that he saw more than I did; for, to own the truth, I could not have done the same thing.
When
